Monday, April 26, 2010

"Chuck" is back after a couple of weeks off, and I have a review coming up just as soon as I pretend to be Canadian to be well-liked...

"But off the record, it's about damn time." -General Beckman

What she said.

I wrote a bit about this episode in today's column - specifically, about how happy I was to see the show not only not miss a beat with Chuck and Sarah together, but be even more fun in a number of ways.

So rather than rehash that point - or note, as Fienberg talked about on last week's podcast, what a refreshing change it was to have an entire episode with Sarah looking happy - I'll try to go a little more in-depth about why "Chuck vs. the Honeymooners" worked so well.

After so much darkness earlier in Season 3.0 (much of it effective, some of it not), it was a welcome change of pace to have a straight-up romp(*) with the two crazy kids enjoying the hell out of each other's company, being turned on by the idea of fighting evil together, trying on ridiculous cover identities (and Yvonne Strahovski adding another convincing, albeit exaggerated, accent to her repertoire with her Texas gal character), lying to each other for a good reason (and with relatively low stakes, since everyone watching knew they'd wind up staying in the spy game, and together) and kicking very much butt together.

(*) One false note, which we get in lieu of the "Chuck" Plot Hole of the Week: the (offscreen) murder of the two Interpol agents who were sent to clean up Chuck and Sarah's mess. Death isn't normally out of place on "Chuck," but it felt that way in the midst of a very light episode - particularly since it was Chuck and Sarah's foolhardy actions that led to those two deaths. I wouldn't have wanted to stop the hijinx for some "Oh my god, we got those two men killed!" angst but I'd rather the two characters (whom we never met, anyway) had just been taken out of the picture in a different way. A nice beating would have sufficed.

Between the introduction of Chuck Fu and the arrival of Shaw, Sarah was unfortunately on the sideline for a lot of this season, so it was a pleasure to see her as an active, super-capable spy and kung fu fighter, and then to see Chuck fighting right alongside her, with the two even punching in unison when the handcuffs got involved. As the two fought one-armed, back-to-back in the final fight in the cafe, I made a note that it reminded me of season one's "Chuck vs. the Undercover Lover," where Casey beat up the bad guys with Chuck strapped to his back, even using Chuck against his will to knock a few of their opponents out. "Only here," I noted, "Chuck can fight, too."

And then, of course, moments later, we got a more direct recreation of that fight, only with Morgan taking the place of Chuck as the hapless nerd strapped to Casey. And that scene capped a wonderful episode for the unlikely new Casey/Morgan partnership, and lived up to the promise of Morgan joining Team Bartowski. I'm 100% on board with the producers' desire to have Chuck get better at the spy game (in part on his own, in part with the new Intersect), because if the character didn't grow, the same jokes would get lame and repetitive. But by throwing Morgan - whose own brand of nerditry is a bit different and more aggressively ignorant of spy stuff than Chuck's - into the mix, those jokes get a fresh new life. (Along with hilarious new jokes like Morgan's sub-eating ID photo or his super-secret crotch money pouch.) And it's also interesting to see Casey showing more respect for Morgan's contributions upfront than he was giving Chuck at this stage of Chuck's spy career. I suppose the writers have to do some more finessing to justify Morgan's gig since he doesn't have an Intersect in his head (and since being "the Intersect of Chuck" is only useful on occasion), but the idea that the little bearded dude's outsider perspective has value in spy world is a promising one.

And after Ellie and Awesome didn't get a farewell in what was originally going to be the end of the season, the characters get a better send-off - for now, as I suspect Chuck and Sarah will wind up on a spy mission to Africa within an episode or two - and even get serenaded by Jeffster! (Unplugged!) Any episode with a drunken Ellie being flanked by Jeff and Lester in turtlenecks and wire-rim glasses singing "Leaving on a Jet Plane" is overflowing with goodness, is it not?

Some other thoughts:

• This week in "Chuck" pop culture references, so many memorable thrillers have taken place on trains that I'm not even sure what to list first: "North by Northwest"? "Strangers on a Train"? "Murder on the Orient Express"? "Silver Streak"? Regardless, lots of great movies (or occasionally great, like "Silver Streak") take place on trains - including John Frankenheimer's great, simply-titled "The Train," which Matt Seitz has often argued was "Die Hard on a Train" 25 years early - and any or all should be in your Netflix queue (start with "North by Northwest," then "The Train"). Meanwhile, Jeffster!'s folkie look resembled early Simon and Garfunkel (even as they sang John Denver by way of Peter, Paul & Mary).

• This week in "Chuck" music: "Holiday" by Vampire Weekend plays over the opening montage of Chuck and Sarah spending an awful lot of time in their passenger compartment, Polyphonic Spree's "Light & Day/Reach for the Sun" plays as Chuck and Sarah resolve to not quit the spy game together, and Chuck puts on the seminal Nina Simone version of "Feeling Good" as his choice for what will become Sarah's favorite song.

• In addition to CIA's hysterical photo collage of Morgan, I loved the stern caller ID picture of General Beckman that Chuck had on his iPhone. In general, the show has a lot of fun with those pictures (I recall Devon's was one of him kissing his biceps, right?), and this was no exception.

• Speaking of phones, Sarah's sure got a thing against iPhones, doesn't she? She threw hers into the pool in the season premiere, then threw Chuck's out of the train here.

• And speaking of Devon's biceps, loved his explanation for why he would pack dumbbells on a trip to Africa: pointing to his splendid torso and explaining, "This didn't happen by accident."

Finally, in case you didn't see the news this afternoon, this blog will be relocating in a little over a week to HitFix.com. Assuming I get next week's "Chuck vs. the Role Models" in advance, that will be, somewhat appropriately, the subject of the last review on this version of the blog, and my write-ups of the season's final episodes will be over at HitFix.

127 comments:

Even better than the end of season 3.1! If the show can keep doing this I think it has a real shot at season 4. I loved Morgan as CIA. He and Casey have real comic potential together! Best of luck, Alan at the new job! Can't wait to follow you over there!

Hell yeah! Any show that features lots of Sarah kicking ass and ends with the one and only Nina Simone gets an A+ in my book. And, for a change, the bad guys had nothing to do with the Ring - to quote General Beckman, "It's about damn time!"

Big props to Josh Gomez. He's raised Morgan's hilarity all season with one solid performance after another. And tonight, he was funny as ever, bringing us a Morgan who is clueless and nerdy in such a great way.

I loved it. I'm so happy that Chuck and Sarah are finally together, and their chemistry is sizzling even more! Perhaps Zachary Levi and Yvonne Strahovski are transforming into a modern-day, ass-kicking Nick and Nora Charles? So much fun to watch!

Episode of the season. Seeing how well they work together as a couple makes the Agent Shaw storyline even sillier in retrospect.

This might not have been what they were going for, but the scene where Chuck and Sarah realized the other was spying reminded me of the pickpocket scene in "Trouble In Paradise" - two professionals enjoying their work and loving each other for doing it so well.

I second the notion that the charcter of Morgan is the best re-vamp of a character that I have seen. I barely tolerated him before, but now found him enjoyable and funny!

Great episode and really what the show should have been for the majority of this season. Looking forward to more. And may I say I wasn't expecting the last scene and it was a wonderful bonus. Hot, sensual, a great scene. The leads really do have great chemistry even saying nothing.

Amazing. Awesome. All around fun and actiony spy hijinks. Funny accents. Crazy great stunts. Jeffster Unplugged. Casey and Morgan were 100% comedy gold, and the grunts of disgust at Chuck and Sarah's PDA from Casey were subtle and hilarious! Oh Canada, oh snap. All that, but most of all we got to see Sarah being happy! FINALLY!

This one fired on all cylinders. I laughed more tonight than I have all season. I got all warm and fuzzy at the end - perfect song BTW - as Chuck and Sarah cuddled in bed, and I am not really one to squee out loud. But I did shout "Yes!" when Beckman said it was about damn time. That was hilarious!! I will not be deleting this one off the DVR until the DVD comes out. So. Much. Love. And I'm feelin' good! (Sorry, couldn't resist)

Very fun episode. I think Alan did a good job of pointing out the positives, so I'll just make a couple of points. First, production values are still not as good as seasons 1 & 2 (fight scene at the end of the episode in particular was poor; set designs look cheap). I'm sure this is down to budget cuts and it's something I'll just have to get used to.

Second, I went back and re-watched all of this seasons episodes over the past few weeks and have to say, I like them even less the second time around. Alan, I disagree strongly with your statement that "much" of what they did the previous 13 episodes was "effective". Those 13 episodes on the whole were pretty forgettable. Chuck is a comedy first and foremost, with a little action thrown in. The creative powers tried to turn it into something it wasn't, and the show suffered for it both creatively and in the ratings (I can't help but think that the ratings slide from the first episode to episodes 10-13 had a lot to do with the quality of the show).

Anyhow, let's hope that the show builds on the momentum from tonight. It was nice to finally have an episode that reminded me of why I looked forward to every episode during seasons 1 & 2.

Great show! I hate to bring up the specter of the Shaw-era, but why didn't season three just start here? Aside from the development of Morgan, whose probably come the furthest since the first season, and his banter with Casey, the whole transformation of Sarah into a (kinda) real girl and Chuck into something of a real spy was all in place at the end of season two.

When the cast is actually together, it just looks like everyone is having fun. I'd like to see the show make use of "Happy Sarah" more. Ms. Strahovski can be funny, and I think having her be a bit more loose around a straighter/more serious Chuck has a lot of potential. Just show her playing video games with Morgan at some point.

Now Casey just needs to blow something up. I almost felt bad for the big guy. He actually spent the whole episode as the damsel in distress with Morgan schooling him on things. (Can we start complaining about Casey's lack of agency? haha!)

I even thought the Chuck/Ellie relationship felt sort of heartwarming tonight.

Happy.Jeffster Unplugged.Still feeling sad about Mr & Mrs Smith (the TV series) which was the only spy thing I ever watched before, so everything (except the flashing) tends to remind me of it.Still...Happy

I think the "plot hole of the week" might involve the restaurant where the final fight took place. Weren't there other patrons in there at one time that just conveniently disappeared after the badguys showed up? And why were they keeping hostages tied up right in front of a street level window? Let me know if I missed something.

Welcome back Chuck! The Chuck we loved for 2 seasons is back. 3.13 was good, but Shaw was still around, still dark, this was pure fun in all regards. THIS may make up for the rest of season 3. My only nitpick is that it was distracting in such a C/S romantic episode to have YS's real life boyfriend playing the punk rocker on the train. Oh well. Small complaint. It's about damn time was a great line and the truth. It's about damn time.

I love that Sarah was so happy, that they were so happy. These characters and us viewers were tortured this season. This is one to watch over. The rest of season 3 except for 13 I may try to forget. It starts now for me. I am so glad they didn't hold back that they are truly together now. No guessing needed, no sly references. Loved Chuck telling Ellie she wasn't leaving him alone. Sweet moment for a sweet episode. And Nina Simone-wow.

I didn't know Yvonne had a boyfriend (when Baylink asked) so it was all good here (I was trying to figure out what language just went whizzing by my ears)

I'm not sure we could have skipped all the character ...progression in 3.0 but I really could have done without Shaw. And as was said - no Ring! Yay!Morgan and Casey? Any day.Though as they once said on Buffy - you can't zoom, it's just a surveillance tape. (plot pinhole)

If we're judging on sheer fun and escapism, that just might have been the most enjoyable hour of television I've seen all year. I may be biased because I love stories set on trains, but this was very well done- and it's really great to see a talented cast firing on all cylinders.

By the way, the town they stopped in totally looked like a Swissified version of the Stars Hollow set... makes sense considering this is a WB show.

To be honest, there was one part of today's episode that just felt off. What made the beginning of the show great was the dynamic between Chuck/Sarah ... and Casey. Now, we all knew Chuck and Sarah would happen at some point, but I wonder if there's a way to get Casey more involved in the main dynamic, and not as a pure secondary element, as he was today with Morgan.

I loved this episode so much. Yvonne looked simply radiant, and the episode as a whole was so much more laid back than any other this season.

I think my favorite part of this episode was Casey: the grunting in disgust when Chuck and Sarah kiss after editing their vows, the way he grudgingly worked with Morgan, and his almost heart-to-heart with Sarah. He practically gave them the blessing to just run away, and that says a lot about how he's warmed up to Chuck and Sarah individually and as a couple.

Then Jeffster's surprisingly touching "Leaving on a Jetplane", and the scene with Chuck and Ellie. It was quite fitting that she is the first outside the spy world who knows of their relationship, and it was just an overall sweet goodbye. I have to say, I will miss the Awesomes and Team Bartowski interacting, but that clip of Ellie taking out Casey with a pan indicates that they'll be back eventually.

Could that cuddle in the last scene be any more cute?? That was serioiusly my FAVORITE part. It was SOOOO cute. I was smiling like a freaking idiot and watched it at least five times on my handy-dandy DVR. *contented sigh* :)

One comment: Didn't we watch an entire season of Sarah wanting to leave the spy life? Wasn't Chuck waiting for her a train station to leave the spy life and presumably since she threw her gun on the bed, she was going to leave the spy life and join? I was confused then as to why Sarah acts like running isn't possible and that she thinks it isn't what Chuck wants at the start of the episode. I thought it was made very clear that they both wanted to run now. The conversation in their compartment with Sarah they couldn't just run like that made no sense. It was the only off note for me. They have to start being more consistent again. It takes us out of the moment to have scenes that don't jive with what has come before.

This was just a great feel-good episode. We waited a few weeks to get this episode since Vs the Other Guy, but wow. The chemistry of Sarah and Chuck together is just too good to pass on. Well done, guys. Well done.

Andrew said: The proper grading of any Chuck episode for me is "how goofy a grin is on your face when it's over" and this one rivals vs. The Ring for the record.

Spot on. I am still buzzed over an hour later.

I just watched live for the first time (I don't live in the US, just visiting) and for the first time with my 7 year old nephew (Mountain time so he didn't miss his normal bedtime, for the concerned parents among us). We had watched a couple episodes on ondemand together earlier in the week. Anyway, what a truly awesome ep, and in the words of my nephew, "That was a really good Chuck".

I have my gripes (I don't find the Casey/Morgan pairing as entertaining as many watchers; and I don't need Beckman to be a shipper, or the seemingly compulsory meta-comment) but Jeffster more than made up for all of that. Laughing out loud, clapping my hands, I didn't think that they could top Beard, Tic Tac or Other Guy, but tonight licked it.

And that fight scene was just amazing - amazing, truly - and it looked like much of it was YS and ZL rather than stunt performers. And Morgan got to fight, too.

My favorite train movie: The Lady Vanishes. Given the period detail that the production crew gave the train that Chuck and Sarah were on, I flashed on that movie quite a few times during tonight's episode.

And goodness knows we've noted the times that the budget was clearly stretched this season, so in fairness I have to say that they went all out on the train set. It looked simply fabulous. Very much what I imagine the Orient Express would be like, or the train in some Agatha Christie novel.

Fun times.

Word verification: crauder. Chuck shared a small train compartment with Sarah, but he didn't crauder.

Thank goodness. Tonight's episode was fun, charming, and engaging. They rescued Sarah from her serious case of the dours, they rescued Ellie from her serious case of the divas, they made such great use of Josh Gomez's comic potential, Casey showed a human side as well getting in some of his marvelous grunts, and Chuck and Sarah have definitively proved that the two of them together makes the show more fun.

I've doggedly watched all 13 of the previous episodes. Each of them increased my sense of loss and of disappointment. Chuck became a whining louse. Sarah became encased in the ice princess persona I'd already become tired of, and then threw herself at Shaw, making her look shallow and making her interactions with Chuck for the past 2 years look like she'd been lying to and manipulating him. Ellie acted like a spoiled brat, and Awesome like a scared rabbit. What on earth made the creators think we would enjoy watching such disagreeable people? The sour turn the characters took ruined any of my enjoyment for the things that were done right.

This episode did things right. I didn't care about the plot holes. I sat back and enjoyed myself, for the first time this season.

I don't know if we're going to get a season 4. They dug themselves a pretty deep hole and the fact that they dug it and defend the digging, makes me afraid that they don't understand what went wrong. Which wasn't angst, BTW, it was torture. It's awful to dread each successive episode, watch because I can't help myself (I do love this show), and feel hurt by the end.

I'm looking forward to the next 5 episodes with zest and pleasure, not because I'm a satisfied shipper, but because Chuck is fun and exciting and interesting again. And a big YES! to all of those comments about how lovely it is to see Sarah with a smile and a personality.

This episode was fantastic and had me laughing outloud several times, especially with Beckman's final line, which I completely agree with. It's clear she was being the voice of the fandom in that moment, which is appropriate as she is usually watching their missions on a television screen, much like we do.Overall one of my favorites of the season, up there with Chuck vs. The Beard in my book.`

Absolutely fantastic episode. I loved every minute of it. I fell in love with this show in season 1 because of how happy I felt at the end of every episode, and this episode made me feel as happy as I've been in a long time. Top notch stuff.

While I enjoyed this one a lot more than the first 13 just because of how fun it was, I still greatly appreciate those 13 for the drama that unfolded. It wasn't perfect, but it was a different side to the series, and I think that the show runners learned a heck of a lot from those episodes - specifically the need for guest stars that have chemistry with a cast that has more chemistry than any I've ever seen.

"Jen said... Hearing Chuck play Nina Simone for Sarah reminded me of bridget fonda's character in "Point of No Return" Guess the spy ladies love some Nina!"

Of course, "Point of No Return" was all about a secret agent who, like Chuck and Sarah (for a little while, anyway), was trying to quit so she could live a normal life.

Like just about everyone, I really liked the episode. The one "off" note to me was the way the Basque terrorist guy whose life was in danger kept trying to play relationship/life counselor for Chuck and Sarah -- you'd think he'd have a lot of other things on his mind.

I hope they build on what they started here. I could see Morgan and Casey having a code: "Sort of reminds me of Lake Como." as a way of saying "They're lying/aren't who they say they are".

I hope they decide to just leave the Chuck/Sarah relationship alone. Seeing two people be incredibly happy together is a lot more compelling than most writers tend to give it credit for.

Frankly, if this had been the first episode of the season (ignoring for a second the Morgan-knowing factor) I think the entire season would have been much, much better. The only think the story loses without the horrible Shaw storyline was the Hannah stuff, which was actually pretty good. The rest of the stuff worth watching didn't really need Shaw at all.

"Chuck" is finally back to being "Chuck". It's a show that's supposed to make you laugh from the jokes, make you feel warm fuzzies from the the tender moments, and make you drop your jaw from the awesome moments. This episode hit all of those out of the park. Easily one of the top 5 episodes, ever.

Like the guy said, Chuck and Sarah can't run forever. And what would running accomplish? Sarah isn't wired to be a normal girl and as long as Chuck has the intersect, he'll keep flashing. Beckman was fine with them being together so it was all much ado about nothing.

Besides, we all know Chuck couldn't have stayed away from Ellie forever and the government would have used her and Morgan to lure him out. Plus...it's hard to run away when you're ordering medicine and buying Justice League comics. :-)

Sarah wanted to run because she didn't want to lose Chuck. Now she knows (for the time being) that Chuck is still Chuck. I wish the show would do more stand alone episodes like this. (like Buffy did...keep the big bad, but do other stories as well.) A+ episode!

I hope they decide to just leave the Chuck/Sarah relationship alone. Seeing two people be incredibly happy together is a lot more compelling than most writers tend to give it credit for.

Well, I wouldn't quite want that. They have to have SOME conflict. But instead of "Oh noes, this plot contrivance means we can't be together anymore!" or "Oh my God, Felicia Day (my favorite theoretical guest star to be a love interest) just walked into the Buy More!" they'll have you know, actual realistic issues that hopefully the writers have watched the Taylors resolve on Friday Night Lights. I'm pretty they watch as they wanted someone like Connie Britton for some role or another (Casey's former flame? I forget).

Simple and obvious one that is surely coming is I'm sure they're going to move in together (to lose a set, if nothing else) and there are issues to be had there.

WOO HOO!!!!! Absolutely loved it! God, where to start? I'll need to watch it again to get a good handle on everything, so here's random things as I think of them:

1) Excellent fight scenes. I just finally watched the Season 2 finale, where Chuck does Chuck Fu for the first time. Although back then Levi did a great job for being new to fighting and learning that sequence in a week, it's clear there's been a year of training in there, and he's progressed a lot (I've noticed it throughout season 3, but being able to compare this to season 2 directly it's really clear) Plus great fight choreography. Crisp, clean, and a heck of a lot of fun to watch. Kudos to both him and Yvonne for doing so much of their own stunt work both here, and on the show as a whole.

2. Loved the song at the end. One of my favorite songs that used to play on the swing/crooners station here in St. Louis. Maybe an odd choice for more casual watchers of Chuck and its musical choices, but the show's provided exposure to some great, nontypical, non-Top 40's fare, and I've been able to broaden my music catalog at least. (An old complaint from these boards--where's the Chuck soundtrack dang it? Although at this point we'd need at least a five disk set.)

3. Plenty of Chuck/Sarah sexual tension, both build-up at various moments, and resolution. Dang they're good together. I could say a lot more, but...just, dang. I'm not the biggest shipper in the world, but I'm incredibly happy they are finally together (and that the show can have so much fun with it).

4. The comic stylings of Morgan and Casey. Casey having to deal with Morgan is comic genius, and I like this new use for Morgan--it is different than when Chuck started out as a spy, and not sure how Morgan will find a role to be of help in future episodes, but he does seem to have a knack for, through never shutting up, finding out that useful piece of information someone's trying to hide. I think that boils down to great, creative writing on the part of the writing staff--hope they can keep it up. Loved the call back to the fight in the chair. Although Casey's apparent (but muted, and often matched with exasperation) respect for Morgan so early on is a bit odd--maybe his experience with Chuck has softened him up to nerds a bit?

5. Beckman's squirming reaction to Chuck/Sarah's explanation at the end, prior to the "About damn time" line, was hilarious (although a bit incongruous with the "about damn time"). It was finally letting Bonita have some fun, since as Alan once noted she's usually stuck in the exposition role most episodes.

6. Yvonne's getting good at accents, and the Texan out of both her and Levi was hilarious.

7. Overall, with the sheer belly laughs, or giggly laughs over Chuck and Sarah's happiness at being together, I haven't laughed so much at a TV show in a long time.

Did I miss something? How did we get to the Charles alias? Although I appreciate a call back to Pushing Daisies, I liked Carmichael--is this permanent?

Sarah's spy skills haven't gone soft yet, so what gives--after checking out the bad guy's train compartment she doesn't notice Chuck's now wearing his Chuck's in bed? (the shoes, not some strange euphemism for Chuck's...oh never mind. :-)

I'm with Alan--the odd note of the death of the Interpol agents, and that Chuck/Sarah don't even acknowledge it and their role in that result (although please, let's not go full angst) was an off moment. I'd have preferred just a beat-down on the agents as well. Although I suppose the commenter is right, the first two agents likely would have died in their place if Chuck and Sarah hadn't acted, but then so would have the terrorist-turned-informant. So I guess it works out better this way, but still, the show's more fun without gratuitous death, when they can get away with it (the red test first kill delays being the big problem here, the whole Chuck doesn't want to shoot people issue again, etc.). It may not be realistic (but this isn't a realistic show, it's a fun show), but I prefer the using tranqs over guns, keeping death offscreen and out of reference, etc.

**That end scene was incredible. Even though the dialogue is ostensibly about that Nina Simone song, there was another deeper, soulful layer to it. Chuck saying that he's found "the one", Sarah saying that she "likes it", and Chuck replying that "it's a good start"...the amazing chemistry absolutely sizzled as Chuck and Sarah just soaked up each others' presence with amazement and gratitude for finally, finally making it. It's too damn bad that the show is hard to pigeonhole when it comes to awards season because I can't think of two actors who deserve to be recognized for their fine work more than Zac Levi and Yvonne Strahovski. Simply amazing.

**The odd couple synergy between Casey and Morgan. Lots of funny moments, not the least of which Morgan pulling his train ticket out of his "super secret" money pouch to outsmart "train station gypsies", and the conductor's grossed-out expression as he delicately scanned it. Heh!

**Given the budget limitations, the production team did another fine job of staging the storyline. Excellent direction and camera shots, and major kudos to the stunt team for the fantastic close quarters fighting (handcuffed!) scenes.

Can't wait for the other five episodes, and I hope that NBC will give "Chuck" a fourth season. It's got so much heart, and it's such fun entertainment with moments of soul and sparks of comedy.

Hey Alan, I've been reading your posts after every Chuck episode since I discovered your blog halfway through season 2 of Chuck. I'd like to say thanks for being such a strong advocate of Chuck. Without you, and others on the internet with a strong voice speaking out for the show, we wouldn't even have gotten a third season, let alone these bonus episodes and the chance for a fourth. Best of luck on the new job.

On Chuck, I hope this was an indication of how the bonus episodes will work. Tonight's episode was fun, and funny, and had a lot of heart, this episode felt more like some of the better episodes of season 2.

FINALLY. I may not have to give up on "Chuck" after this season after all!

Like several others, I am going to pretend the first 13 eps of this season just never happened. It actually isn't that difficult to do because that damn storyline mostly went around in totally useless circles anyway.

I'm pretty sure there were no Canadians in this episode--just an American and a Spaniard posing as Canadians, so I don't think you have to worry aboat misrepresentation, eh.

CAPTCHA: "Graness," or the number of times an episode like this can evoke a happily-surprised "Grah!" from me. In this case, off the damn charts. Color me happy with this episode, which is the kind of fun I had with Season Two and occasional episodes of Season Three (in particular, "vs. First Class").

I don't think anybody but Tim Jones (the house composer) and maybe the guys actually in production know the names of the original score at the moment. However, if they were to release an original score album, I'd happily buy that up as quickly as I would a soundtrack compilation of the series.

By the way - do you know, that it is possible we get an official "Chuck" CD? Tim Jones asks on his web site to help him "select music for the upcoming 'Chuck' CD". :) http://www.jonestimjones.com/favorites.php

First off, Alan, best of luck with the new gig. I'm old enough to remember the great TV critics of the 70s and your work is in that class.

I had a little more time to think about last night's episodes and it's great to see them turning the battleship around so we can start feeling the same "Chuck" vibe we felt in S1. The interesting thing, now that they've finally unshackled Yvonne, is how much potential she'll have to contribute to the heart and humor of the show in a new way. Ali Adler gave her something to work with this episode, and see what happens? Good things. Keep this up for as long as this show lasts.

Re the final scene. It was obviously sexy and wonderful, but I loved it for another reason. Back in the pilot, Chuck asks Sarah which music she likes and he is dumbfounded when she can't think of a single band. Yvonne did a great job in that moment because you realize it's a sad but honest response - Sarah's life up until that point has been all about lying and killing, albeit for her country. It certainly hasn't been about fun or friends and family and certainly not about who's on her iPod.

Chuck giving her "her favorite song" -- and WHAT a song! -- was a great shout-out, I think, to that little moment in the first episode where you started to realize how empty Sarah's life really was. And Zach and Yvonne couldn't have played that scene any better. After a whole episode devoted to sex, this was a moment completely focused on a great love that now everyone is on board with. Even the General.

During the last few weeks while the show was in rerund I went back and watched all of seasons 1&2. They were far superior to what we had seen this year. Season 1 was fun, but season 2 was great.I think what hurt this season was the Shaw character. I don't think he worked, he just got in the way.With that said, last night's episode was strong. I was concerned about Morgan joining the team but that played well. Chcuk & Sarah together can take the show to another level. I do hope Chcuk retains some of his geekiness though. It is part of his charm.Great show!

Everyone has said everything I would have said. However, Zachary Levi and Yvonne Strahovki are so good at showing just pure joy. It makes me happy. I love that I get all girly and gooey with the happiness but the episode also had some of the kick-assiest scenes of the season, too.

Maybe Sarah will wake up in ep. 19 and gasp, "The first thirteen episodes were a dream!"

Seriously, I stuck up for JS and CF during the first 13. It's hard to map out an ongoing story and no one is perfect. I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. I was hoping that Shaw would turn out to be a Ring plant whose mission was to seduce Sarah. That would at least have justified his existence and provided a plausible wedge between her and Chuck. I was disappointed when he turned out to be WYSIWYG.

Last night was where season 3 should have begun, and highlights the real problem with the first 13 eps, which wasn't the execution but a foundational error. Instead of building on the awesome finish of S2, JS and CF pressed the reset button. Hell, if you didn't want Chuck and Sarah together immediately, you could have spun out a story where Beckman and Casey are trying to discover the limits and possibilities of Intersect 2.0, Sarah is trying to protect Chuck because she believes they are pushing him too fast (and do you really want such a singular asset in danger in the field), and Chuck is confused because the new Intersect actually controls his body. If you must have Shaw, you bring him in on the side of Beckman and Casey; maybe he sows doubt in Sarah's mind about whether she's really looking out for Chuck's best interest, but the way they chose to go was so limiting and cliche that even good execution (and some of the execution was very good) couldn't overcome that.

That said, whoo hoo! It may only be six episodes, but it looks like the Chuck I love so much is back.

I've enjoyed this season on the whole but realized how much less I enjoyed than seasons 1 and 2 when I wanted to rewatch last night's episode before going to bed. Extremely fun episode and can't wait to rewatch it tonight. Smiling Sarah and Chuck through out the episode = wicked awesome.

If NBC (foolishly) decides not to renew Chuck, is there any possibility (legally, etc) that SyFy or WB could pick it up? I know SyFy reran some episodes in the fall and the WB website had season 1 episodes up for a while.

There is no way that a magazine stand in Europe would have the latest comic books. According to my LJ friends who live there, at the very least, Europe runs about a month behind US production.

It seemed weird to me that after weeks of Sara being anti-"Chuck as spy" that she'd make such a sudden about face at the end of this episode. I think I needed more transition.

I loved how well they worked together. I hope the writers can sustain that level of intimacy in the relationship without becoming stale or being forced to predictably and arbitrarily break them up. I fear that budget cuts mean that we have seen the end of Ellie and Awesome because, while I find I could actually live without Ellie, Awesome is...well...Awesome. I loved Jeffster unplugged. They actually sounded divine, which is highly ironic, IMO. I hope we get more.

For the most part, I'm very happy with this episode, but I'm also feeling a little trepidation for the future.

I've always felt that one of the promises of the pilot that largely fizzled was Chuck using his computer skills to actually help out with the spy stuff and not just be "the human Intersect". So it was great to see Morgan go nuts on Castle's computers and find Chuck.

Also, I think there's a direct correlation between how many lines Adam Baldwin has and how good the episode is.

About damn time we got a Sarah fight scene. Absolutely LOVED how Morgan was able to relocate Chuck so easily. Good to have the team back, kicking 4$$. My only real issue is that Chuck and Sarah didn't really show any remorse to having indirectly killed two Interpol agents (or lead them to their death). Also, Jeffster was a bit underwhelming, maybe I'm spoiled an expect grand showings every time. I'm sure we can blame it on the budget.

My favorite ep of the season by far. This was my Chuck, firing on all cylindars. Sarah and Chuck together adds to the synergistic wonderfulness, as does the addition of Morgan. Loved his oversized backpack, the Canada jokes (I happen to live close to the Great White North), and well, just about everything. Beckman said it best --its about damn time.

i agree with a previous comment, this should have been the season premiere . In fact I am just going to pretend that the other than ...-vs- the Beard, the mass that came before didn't exist and season 3 started last night.

Shame on NBC for running little or no promotions for this ep. Go ahead and jam the Marriage Ref down our throats, I got FX AND AMC!!!

Speaking of phones, Sarah's sure got a thing against iPhones, doesn't she? She threw hers into the pool in the season premiere, then threw Chuck's out of the train here.

She needs to be more careful about that, I think. Someone with enough savvy (like Jeffster!) could retrieve a lot of info off those phones that the CIA doesn't want out there (like why Chuck is calling a General Beckman) :-D

So very much love for this ep! Please, please, please NBC, please renew this show!

"particularly since it was Chuck and Sarah's foolhardy actions that led to those two deaths"

Hey, don't forget the probably *saved* the two lives on the train.If Chuck and Sarah had stayed out of it, it would have been the two interpol people on the train who were killed instead by the evil doers. It is not S/Cs fault - you can't be held responsible for something several reactions removed.

Apart from that it was good. More in that vein - and stop splitting them up.

1. For me, the false note of the episode award goes to Beckman's closing remarks. I don't mind the conclusion itself - relationships are dangerous, but a sad, fluky Chuck is even worse - but the two juxtaposed sentences of her scolding them then coyly rooting for them just seemed inauthentic.

2. It was nice to see YS get to do some comedy, and you gotta love the timing of it after you podcast mention of the character just not getting the chance to be funny. Or was that deliberate?

3. Most eclectic and one of the most noticeable episodic soundtracks for Chuck, and easily the best. And that's not even counting Jeff rocking out looking like Peter Yarrow.

1) Well, it's the official opinion as their boss that inter office (so to speak) romance makes her job harder. But on the other hand, she's not completely blind, having watched surveillance of them for 3 years she's gotta be as sick of it as we were.

2) Sarah's maintained from the very start that her flaw was that she's not funny. Which she explicitly states in the very first episode. So yeah, definitely intentional, though we've seen glimpses of Yvonne Strahovski having some damn fine comic timing previously like when Lester goes after her in season one or "I appreciated the tank" three weeks ago.

I hope NBC shows a little faith in the show, given the flavor of Chuck -vs- the Honeymooners I really believe the show can pull a steady 3.0 if they keep to this same tone in season 4. This was wonderful we have all wanted to see Chuck and Sarah together since the start of the season. When the season started and Chuck left Sarah standing on the train platform in Prague, I trully thought that this would resolve in a couple of weeks. The fact that it took all of season 3.0, when everyone was waiting what happened in episode 3.14 is a black eye for Schwartz and Fedak. They created a trully wonderful show, one of the best most fun and enjoyable I have ever seen, then turned it into something that was not fun, and not enjoyable.

We are now begging for people to come back we are begging for people to watch so we can get another 13-20 episodes of this great show. I believe we would not have been in this boat if we had had a majority of this season with the chemistry and story we saw in 3.14.

Again, I hope NBC realizes they have a diamond with Chuck and with just some proper publicity and a little polishing it would be a show that was never on the bubble and would run until the producers and stars decided it was done.

I totally agree with most of the previous posts that this was the expected episode to start this season. And i can say that after i reviewed all episodes during this time off. All the relationship between Shaw and Sarah was forced and not believable and made a lot of damage to the serial's ratings and to our feelings. But now, starting with the previous episode, I see that everything is going to give me the same wonderful feelings and joy like the end of the season 2 and this is what I am expecting from Chuck and my Sarah...

To quote the little kid at the end of the Incredibles: That. was. AWESOME!!! I had the biggest, stupidest grin plastered to my face for the entire episode. Some of the happiest 43 minutes I've ever spent watching television.

Hokay, I admit it. I'm a Chuck/Sarah shipper. And I was one of those much rejoicing when the will they/won't they came to it's blessed end. So, no surprise that I loved the h-e-double hockey sticks outta this episode. While the whole Shaw thing kinda, let's face it, sucked, I'm not willing to write the whole 13 episodes off if only because it seemed to take those episodes for Chuck to realise that there is one, and only one, most important thing in his life, and it is the ever-sexy Sarah Walker. So, yeah, best episode since the Season 2 finale (come on, how can you top "Guys - I know kung fu?) and hopefully enough of a fan favorite that NBC will realize that there are far more fitting things to cancel than Chuck.

Much as it pains me to say it, at this point I would rather they throw in the towel on Heroes than cancel Chuck.

At this point, Ellie's the only person close to Chuck who's not in on his spy life... and she's going to be seriously hurt when she realizes that. She has to be clued in by the end of the season, right? Is keeping her in the dark really protecting her at this stage?

It's really interesting to me to be reading many comments comparing this season to 1 and 2. Personally I am finding myself hesitating to go back and re-watch 1 and 2 at the moment, what with all the changes in character and situation - maybe I should say evolutions rather than changes. And add to that the different look of the show in a production sense (this maybe just a feeling or sense since I haven't studied it - but it seems to me that especially season 1 boasted a lot more location work) and Chuckthecharacter's new look, and pound for pound it is a profoundly different show. I am guessing this is what Schwartz and Fedak are talking about when they bring up game changing; and especially at the end of The Other Guy and The Honeymooners I am reminded of something Fedak said at WonderCon 2010, which is that he is always more interested in prologue than epilogue, and it could be argued that what we have had up til now is prologue, and that now we have the the spy team we have been looking for, the real story/fun can begin. Similarly, ZL said once in an interview that what he had hoped for from day one was that this journey is the birth of a new superhero... update that to superhero couple and we might be on the lookout for a title change to "Chuck & Sarah".

The show has been peppered with a lot of playfulness regarding rings, Monday being no exception, and what with the title and the number of season 3 eps we have left to us, I wonder whether this will continue with the honeymoon period drawing to a close and business as usual being restored with a firm spy "marriage", and even the further establishment of the immediate spy "family" with Casey, Morgan, Awesome, etc.

Morgan had me from "Ponch", so I am LOVING seeing him become a valuable fake-caller. He nailed Shaw's lame fake fighting, and the lame Interpol Lake Como agents with his pedantry. I hope he has to go undercover as a Canadian and say "aboot" more.

how about the *wink wink, nudge nudge* to Monty Python, when Morgan didn't recognize Casey's hints about Chuck and Sarah having sex. when Casey finally said "intercourse", Morgan used the classic "Say no more"

Several people have said they could have done without the first 13 episodes of season 3. You might want to back up a bit and start with episode 9 Chuck vs The Beard. While Sarah doesn't really start to smile until the end of episode 12, Chuck's return from Spy Hell really starts here with Morgan finding out about Chuck's secret. From 3-1 til then He only smiled with Hannah, and that didn't last long. The series took a definate upturn then. Granted the ratings didn't respond until we knew Shaw was going to get the gruesome death he deserved. Since the end of Chuck vs The Americam Hero and Casey told Sarah that Chuck didn't shoot the mole, there was a definate upturn in Sarah's mood as well as the ratings. Now that shippers and hardcores alike realize we are not going to get the "Sarah Smiles" era pulled out from under us, I think the ratings are going to steadily climb. If anyone dvr'd this episode and watched the final scene where Sarah melts into Chuck's arms in bed, Chuck's brushes her hair aside, and their loving look and kiss as Nina Simone plays in the backround will never be able to resist watching live next week. That had to be the very sexiest and most passionate moment in the entire series. I certainly hope the writers have learned a lesson and will never, and I mean NEVER, bring anyone romanticly between the Walkertowsi's. This name dies when they become family Bartowski. Maybe even a little Chucky or Sarah-Sam Lisa would bring some interesting twists to the show.